EU says Holland discriminates against its pensioners abroad

Dutch pensioners who live abroad are being discriminated against because they are not given an extra payment to compensate for the loss of spending power, the European Commission said on Thursday.

For example, Belgian nationals who worked in the Netherlands and built up state pension rights are not being paid a top-up payment of up to €33.65 a month if they have moved back to their country of origin, news agency ANP said.

The Netherlands has limited the payment to people whose income is 90% taxable in the Netherlands, which means in practice pensioners need to live in the country.

The commission said in a statement this breaks EU law which allows citizens to live in another country without losing pension rights. It also points out the Dutch government advisory body Council of State warned that the measure, introduced in 2011, contravened EU regulations.